Reminders
by DarthAnimus
Summary: Battle is never a good thing but bad things have to come with something good. Isn't that what equal trade is all about? [RoyEd] [REWRITTEN]


Author's Notes: This is the first fanfic I have ever written about Fullmetal Alchemist. Please be kind.

**Reminders**

Ed fell on his knees, thoroughly exhausted. The mixed smell of both blood and smoke floated around, accompanied by the sounds of battle. The whole city was in chaos because of the battle that seemed to have no reason for it. The street where Ed was slumped against a wall was somewhat peaceful for the moment but it was only a matter of time before the battle reached that place.

A somewhat charred tree provided Ed's eyes with much-needed shade from the sun's bright rays. Even thought bruned, Ed recognized the tree as a cherry tree. That realization brought Ed's thoughts back to Central. The cherry trees were scheduled to gain flowers within the next month and Ed decided that he would get back to the city by then. He **would** see the trees in full bloom, no matter what. If only he could get himself to move, even if there was nothing there to provide him with the motivation to do so.

Right on cue the sound of running footsteps started to echo nearer than the other sounds. Too tired to stand up and certain that he was unable to fight, Ed did not bother lifting his head. The defeat and failure hurt him too much.

A pair of black boots came to Ed's line of vision, looking strangely familiar to those that belonged to a military uniform. Ed's eyes drooped ever so slightly and the blond found himself wishing for a soft bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Fullmetal?" a voice snapped sharply, the familiar sound of it giving Ed the strength he needed to lift his head. His bright golden eyes met with the unmistakeable dark gaze of one Roy Mustang, the usually charcoal eyes shaded with the blue hue that was usually visible only when looked closely. It was more than just slightly apparent that the Colonel was quite aggravated.

"Stop staring and stand up", Mustang ordered firmly, glancing around for enemies. "Now, Fullmetal."

There were many things Ed did not like, but one thing he really hated was looking weak in front of Mustang. Nothing the blond did was ever good enough for the stoic man and Ed absolutely refused to give the dark-haired Colonel any more ammunition to use against him. It was with these thoughts in mind that Ed managed to gather the remains of his strength and stand up, facing Mustang with an angry glare.

"Took you long enough", was all Mustang said before grabbing Ed's flesh wrist and pulling the blond with him as he started hurry down the remains of a street. Ed was so focused on keeping his both feet moving that he could not comment in any way to the fact that the older man could be considered to be holding his hand.

The two turned to an alleyway and were momentarily shielded from any on-lookers. When Mustang stopped for a moment Ed pulled his hand free from the other's grip and tried to catch his breath.

"You're in no shape to fight anymore, Fullmetal", Mustang said after a moment, not fazed by the furious glare Ed sent him. "I'm taking you to a base post where you can rest and get any possible injuries treated."

"I'm fine!" Ed snapped angrily, despite the fact that his legs were shaking. he completely ignored the cold look Mustang was giving him in favor of struggling to stay in an upright position.

"Dammit, Fullmetal!" Mustang growled as he grabbed Ed by his arms. "This is not time for you to be selfish. For once swallow your pride and let me help." Before Ed got the chance to even think of a good comeback he had been pulled closer to the Colonel's larger body and the man picked him up bridal style.

"Mustang?" Ed exclaimed with just a hint of panic in his voice from the sudden adrenaline rush caused by being grabbed so quickly by the other. "What the hell?"

At first the raven-haired man did not react to Ed's shouts in any way as he huffed and fixed Ed's position in his arms. Not wanting to end up falling to the ground Ed threw his other arm around Mustang's shoulders to balance himself. This actually proved to be of some help to Mustang as well since the man was finally able to speak: "You sure weight a lot for such a small guy, Fullmetal." As soon as the man had said these words Ed saw red.

Who are you calling so small that he needs iron weights to get any kind of a reading out of a scale?" Ed roared angrily, not at all sorry when he saw Mustang close his eyes as his face grimaced in pain. Heck, the dark-haired man could become deaf and Ed still would not care.

"I never said that", Mustang said with a small crooked smile before starting to walk to the direction they had been headed to previously. There was no way the older man could run, let alone fight, with Ed burdening on his arms. With this in mind Ed spoke carefully: "Where is the enemy?"

"On the other side of the city", Mustang replied and glanced down at Ed's face briefly before adding: "You should sleep, Edward."

Ed was about to protest at first but when he noticed the way Mustang had referred to him he thought better of it. Suddenly wanting to give the man as little trouble as possible Ed leaned his head against Mustang's shoulder, his forehead resting against the crook of the pale man's neck. Feeling comfortable like this Ed closed his eyes, drifting to sleep.

When Ed woke up he found himself resting on a somewhat soft mattress. The blond quickly sat up and recognized his surroundings as those of the large house the military was using as a makeshift base until the battle raging in the city could be calmed down.

Satisfied with the information he now had Ed went on to inspect his own state. His right left was sore from the physical exertion it had been put through and as he attempted to wipe his eyes he noticed that most of the minor scrapes on his face had been covered with small bandages. With a soft sight the young alchemist scratched the back of his head and noticed one thing that was out of place. His braid was open.

Angered by this unexpected realization Ed ran his fingers through his hair, setting loose some of the knots that had formed during the night. With all his attention focused on the task at hand the blond never noticed the door to the room opening as someone walked inside.

"Sleep well?" a voice asked suddenly and Ed lifted his head up to meet Mustang's gaze. The older man was smiling, even if barely visibly. Ignoring the Colonel's question Ed asked one of his own: "Is the battle still going on?" Mustang's lips curled slightly more upwards, which was all the answer Ed needed.

Since he now was aware of the current situation Ed put his attention back on the matter of braiding his hair instead of paying any more attention on Mustang. He still noticed the older man walk over to him and hated the fact that he was currently sitting on the floor level. The Colonel was looking even more down on his than usually. Ed was actually caught a bit off-guard when Mustang sat down on his knees next to the mattress. Ed tried to turn to look at the Colonel but the older man pushed firmly on the back of his shoulder, turning him to the other direction. Curious to know what the man was doing Ed allowed this.

"Let me braid it", was all the raven-haired man said and Ed decided to let the man do as he pleased. As Mustang began to braid his hair, Ed was at first surprised by the uncharacteristic gentleness of the Colonel's touches. Ed soon relaxed as his confidence in the older man grew.

Suddenly Ed thought of something and quickly scanned the mattress with his eyes. Letting out a frustrated groan he spoke to the man behind him: "I've lost my hair band."

"Don't worry", Mustang spoke calmly. "I have something we can use."

"Oh?" Ed lifted a curious eyebrow. "And what might that be?" The blond turned his head to look behind him and saw Mustang pull a dark blue ribbon from his pocket. "Why are you carrying something like that?"

"Hawkeye gave it to me because I kept forgetting meetings. Now every time I have a meeting I tie knot here. If I can't remember if I have meetings I simply take this out and check it." The man let out a warm chuckle. "I must have forgotten it in my pocket."

Ed actually laughed at that, muttering a soft: "You're hopeless, Colonel", as Mustang tied the ribbon around his braid. The blond only hoped that the man had not gotten it in his head to tie the ribbon into a bow.

After word

Three weeks later everything had went back to normal between Roy and Ed, at least at first glance. The two argued heatedly every single time Ed came in to hand in his report, causing words and sometimes even objects to fly. A break came to the routine one day when Ed whirled around to leave in the middle of an argument and Roy's eyes followed the movement of the blond braid. The Colonel was more than just slightly surprise to realize that he recognized the blue ribbon.

Moments later Ed was already out of the office but a small smile stayed on Roy's lips. Subconsciously the raven-haired man pulled on the sleeve covering his left wrist. There was a dark red bang wrapped around his wrist, seemingly a completely innocent object. Roy wondered if it had been selfish of him to steal the item while Ed was asleep. But then again, he had given the blond a new one in its stead.

Roy turned his chair around to look out the open office window at the exact right moment to have a pale pink petal land on his nose. The sudden sensation brought a sneeze out of the Colonel. There was also the sound of bright laughter from behind Roy but before the man could turn around a pair of arms wrapped them around his shoulders. One arm stayed like that, iron hard beneath the sleeve it was covered by, while the other one landed on Roy's arm, the same arm that had the stolen hair band wrapped around it.

"Baka Colonel..." a voice mumbled with no real anger and Roy smiled.

A single pink petal lied on the floor, forgotten.

Owari

Ending Notes: My friend insisted that I put cherry blossom petals in this fic, that's the biggest reason behind the last line. And thanks to Sasukes Half Eaten RiseBall who gave me a little kick to fix this story up a bit.


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